The Irascible Professor
SMIrreverent Commentary
on the State of Education in America Today

by Dr. Mark H. Shapiro

"To
keep oneself safe does not mean to bury oneself."....
....Seneca.

Commentary of the Day - August 30, 2007: Residence Hall and
Fraternity/Sorority House Fires a Growing Threat.

Fire safety probably is the last thing on the minds of parents when
they send their sons and daughters off to college. However, a
recent report [1] from the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
notes that fires in campus residences are on the rise at the same
time that the number of structure fires, in general, is falling.
Over the past three decades structure fires in the United States
have declined from just over a million per year to around 500,000
per year thanks to improved building codes, stricter code
enforcement, and better construction techniques. The number of
fires in college residence halls, and fraternity and sorority houses
declined at a slower rate from 1980 to 1998 (from about 3,200 per
year in 1980 to about 1,800 per year in 1998). However, since
1999 the number of residence hall and fraternity/sorority fires
has risen to the 3,300 per year range. On average seven
civilians die and 46 civilians are injured in these fires each year,
and they cause some $25 million in direct property damage.

The reason for the
increase in the number of residence hall and fraternity/sorority
house fires is not fully understood. There is some speculation
that changes in reporting procedures may account for part of the
increase. Another possible reason is the changing
configuration of residence halls from dormitory-like accommodations
to apartment-style residences with individual cooking facilities.
Indeed, 72% of the reported fires and 37% of civilian injuries
were traced to cooking equipment. Other causes of residence
hall and fraternity sorority fires were trash (7%), arson (4%),
heating equipment (3%), smoking materials (2%), candles (2%),
electrical (2%), miscellaneous (8%).

Though fires
in residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses
attributed to smoking and the use of lighted candles accounted for
only 4% of the fires, they were responsible for 60% of civilian
deaths and 35% of civilian injuries. While only 6% of the reported fires
started in bedroom areas, 67% of civilian deaths occurred in fires
that started in bedroom areas.

Unfortunately, many
residence halls and fraternity/sorority structures are not equipped
with automatic sprinklers or other automatic fire suppression
systems, and some do not have centrally monitored fire detection and
alarm systems. Those residence halls and fraternity/sorority
buildings that do have full-coverage automatic fire suppression
systems are far safer than those that do not. The recent data from
the NFPA show that approximately 36% of residence hall and
fraternity/sorority fires occurred in structures with full sprinkler
coverage. (Though the percentage of residence halls and
fraternity and sorority equipped with automatic fire suppression
systems was not given in the report, it probably is close to 36%.) The deaths per 1,000 fires in these buildings with
full sprinkler coverage was 0.0, while the deaths per 1,000 fires in
structures without sprinklers was 13.9. The average loss per
fire was $3,800 in structures with sprinklers compared to $35,000 in
structures without sprinklers. Clearly, equipping student
residences with full-coverage, automatic fire suppression systems is
the single most important step that can be taken to improve the
safety of these structures.

The report also noted
that residence hall and fraternity/sorority fires occur more
frequently at night and on weekends. This is not very
surprising since occupancy is higher at these times. The
higher rate of fires on weekends appears to be correlated with
alcohol use.

The clear lesson from
the NFPA report is that automatic sprinkler systems save lives and
reduce property damage. All newly constructed college and
university student occupancies should include automatic sprinkler
systems with alarms that are centrally monitored 24-hours per day.
When major renovations are carried out on these structures, the installation of
sprinklers should be required.

At the very minimum,
student residence halls and fraternity/sorority buildings should
have modern fire detection and alarm systems that are monitored on a
24-hour basis. Within the building the audible alarm system
should be so loud that it can't be ignored, and the alarm should
also trigger strobe lights to alert the hearing impaired. Any
alarm should also generate an immediate response by campus police or
security personnel, and the immediate dispatch of at least one piece
of fire apparatus. Because false alarms sometimes are common,
some campuses dispatch only security personnel to check on the
validity of an alarm before notifying the fire department. This is a
practice that results in unnecessary delay, and should be ended.
The fire department response can be downgraded to routine or
cancelled entirely if the alarm is determined to be false. If the alarm
is valid the time saved by the immediate fire department response
can be critical. Even if the alarm was triggered by a minor
fire that appears to have been extinguished by the building
occupants, it is essential that trained firefighters respond to
inspect the location to ensure that the fire is completely out.
(Most fire companies now have thermal imaging equipment to check for
hidden extensions of a fire that appears to be out.)

If your son or daughter is planning on attending college in an area
where fire protection is provided by a volunteer fire department,
don't settle for less than a full-coverage sprinkler system in his
or her student residence. The extra protection is needed to
compensate for the longer response times typical of volunteer fire
departments.

Don't be shy about
asking questions of college or university officials about fire
protection in their student residences and fraternity and sorority
houses. If you receive evasive answers, think twice about
sending your son or daughter to that school.